KNOXVILLE — A man upset that his car was being towed beat the wrecker driver so viciously the victim suffered a bleeding brain and fractured face bones.

"His injuries were extensive," said Knoxville Police Department Investigator Chas Terry. "Once he was down, he was kicked several times."

The wrecker driver, Ronald Gandy, 48, of northeast Knoxville, was beaten unconscious during the 5 a.m. incident Monday. He was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in critical condition. His condition today was withheld at Gandy's request.

Terry said Gandy was patrolling Pleasant Terrace Apartments, 5700 Pleasant Ridge Road, where he has a contract to tow unauthorized vehicles. Vehicles without a parking pass are not allowed past a certain hour.

Gandy began hooking up an unauthorized Lexus sedan when a man came from an apartment claiming the car was his, Terry said. Gandy explained the man would have to pay $75 for a tow fee and he would drive the man where he needed to go to get money to retrieve the car.

During that time, Terry said, Gandy got the driver's identification.

As Gandy continued to prepare the Lexus for towing and had his back to the driver, the driver launched an attack on the unsuspecting Gandy, Terry said.

After leaving Gandy on the pavement unconscious, the driver tried to retrieve his Lexus, but was frustrated because he didn't know how to operate the tow truck controls, Terry said. The driver fled on foot.

This is why Don Jacobs and non-banned commenters are POS dick-sucking faggots who want Homeland Security to fist their buttholes in public while masterbating to their daughters' kiddie porn, just like the rest of the lying terrorist scumbag traitors at KNS. As usualy, the only way to get the truth is to visit Pirate News. NOxVile is a town where sheriff Tim Hutchison steals parked cars at West Town Mall with convicted copkilling towtruck Roy Lee Clark, so current sheriff JJ Jones gave Hutch a job and a $125,000/year pension instead of a jail cell, where previous Knox sheriff Joe Jenkins was jailed for stealing $1-million in parked cars from car dealers.

A woman peered outside her residence about 4 a.m. Saturday in the 1500 block of S.W. Fillmore and saw a tow truck hauling off her passenger car.

This automobile theft wasn’t the first of its nature in recent weeks. Further, it may not be the last such instance.

On Wednesday, Topeka police warned the public that officers are “noticing a trend in auto thefts involving the use of a tow truck.”

Police Sgt. Francheska Lamb, who oversees the financial crimes and auto theft unit, said about three hours of detective work led officers to make an arrest in the 300 block of S.E. 21st in the tow truck-aided vehicle theft from Saturday.

William James Morrissey Jr., a 46-year-old Topekan, was arrested in connection with that theft and a second one from the same morning.

Police spokeswoman Kristen Veverka in a news release described how the recent thefts have played out. She said a tow truck will hook up to a vehicle on the street, usually in a residential neighborhood, then tow it to another location to strip its parts.

The exact number of such thefts wasn’t available. However, there have been enough of the thefts for police to notify the public.

Veverka said officers are encouraging people to watch out for this potential crime in their neighborhoods.

“If you see an unmarked or suspicious tow vehicle in your neighborhood,” Veverka said, “contact your neighbor to see if the service is legitimate.”

If the car is being towed without authorization, Veverka said, people should call police or Crime Stoppers and take note of any markings, tag, color or other descriptive details about the tow vehicle.

Police said Morrissey wasn’t cooperative when arrested and may be involved in a string of similar auto thefts. However, Veverka said police can “positively tie” Morrissey only to the two thefts from Saturday. Veverka said there is still potential for other suspects to surface.

She said many stolen vehicles in Topeka are recovered, but several are taken to salvage yards and sold.

According to police statistics, there were 139 auto thefts from Jan. 1 to April 1. Of those, about 58 percent have been recovered. The average value of the stolen vehicles is $4,889.

As a deterrent to auto theft, police remind people to protect their vehicles by locking their car doors, parking their vehicles in a garage whenever possible, not leaving keys in the car and noting any suspicious or unusual behavior around vehicles in their neighborhood.

Lamb also recommended people not leave important paperwork, such as vehicle titles, inside their cars. Once stolen, she said, having the title makes it easier for the thief to claim ownership of the vehicle.

She also said too many people continue to leave their vehicles unlocked. And thieves know that.

“What are the chances of trying every door in a (high volume) parking lot and finding one unlocked? Pretty good,” Lamb said.

She said it is surprising how many people loan a vehicle to several other people in a given week. The owner sometimes loses track of who had it last, Lamb said, and one of the people the owner entrusted with the vehicle steals it.

Other people report stolen autos after leaving their vehicle while it is still running, whether to quickly help someone or to run into a convenience store.

“(Auto theft) is a crime of opportunity,” Lamb said.

In addition to 911, numbers to call in the event of a suspicious tow truck include police detectives at (785) 368-9400 and Crime Stoppers at (785) 234-0007.

Comments

I was taking a trip about 10 years ago and late one night I stopped at a rest area on I35 in Iowa. I was too tired to drive any further so I parked and crawled into the back seat to take a little nap. I am not sure how long I had been asleep when I was awakened by my car shaking. A tow truck was hooking up to the front of my car (none of its lights were on). I jumped out with my pistol in hand. Needless to say the guy jumped into his tow truck and took off down the highway with me in hot pursuit. I backed off when my speedometer read 90. I wasn't sleepy after that.

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